Honda to reveal NSX successor at Detroit

Honda will showcase a successor to its iconic NSX sports car at the Detroit motor show in January.

The Japanese manufacturer teased a silhouette image of the car at a media preview ahead of the Tokyo motor show. The car looks longer than the EV-ster concept shown at this week’s event, but with a similar profile.

It has been styled by Honda Design’s creative director, Toshinobu Minami. He said: 'We are proceeding with the development of this car, and you will see the design soon.'

He confirmed there are plans to sell the ‘supersports car’ globally; it will be marketed as an Acura in the US, and Honda everywhere else.

No technical details have been released. However, sources say the new car is likely to use a tuned version of Honda’s newly released SH-AWD powertrain, which blends a V6 petrol engine, an electric motor with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and two additional electric motors, one on each rear wheel.

The system uses the difference in torque between the rear motors to aid turning. The vehicle could also have the potential to run for limited distances on electric power alone.

The concept car is almost certain to use Honda’s Turn Lever System – the handle-based steering set-up that features on all three of its Tokyo show concepts. Honda says it tested the system around the Suzuka grand prix circuit before the end of its Formula One involvement, and found it was more than three seconds per lap faster than a car with a conventional steering wheel.

Developed in conjunction with then-Honda Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, the NSX was introduced in 1990 and sold through to 2005. It drew praise for accessible handling and its all-aluminium V6 engine – factors that make the SH-AWD set-up an even more likely solution for any successor.